Spare Parts Management (SPM) Benchmark Survey in China’s Automotive Industry

In today's automotive market, sound after-sales service has become a critical success factor in new car sales. At the same time, along with the sharp increase in customer numbers, the spare parts and service business is creating reliable revenues and considerable profits for automotive companies.

Earlier this year, Deloitte China conducted a nationwide survey on spare parts management (SPM) in China’s automotive industry, which covers 12 major Chinese Auto OEMs and aims at benchmarking and getting a better understanding of the auto vehicle spare parts market in China.

Key findings include the following:

• As China‘s automotive market has matured, the potential of the after-sales market has started to be gradually realized. The spare parts business has become more strategically important and will become one of the key areas for future competition. China OEMs are at a critical stage for strategic repositioning of the spare parts business.
• Spare parts supply chain management is more complicated than that of finished products, with the challenges stemming from the huge number of parts SKUs, unstable and unpredictable demand, as well as the complexity of the overall supply and distribution network.
• In terms of operating results of the parts business, the performance of Chinese OEMs appears to be in line with that of OEMs in mature markets regardless of business size. However, SPM capabilities and performance vary widely among different OEMs, and many companies still have not fully established operational KPI systems for their spare parts businesses.
• The top barriers faced by Chinese OEMs in improving overall service level lie in the following areas: planning capabilities, stability of parts supply, supplier collaboration, transformation management, information system capabilities, and supply chain visibility.
• Deloitte advises that Chinese automotive companies consider how to integrate spare parts operations into overall corporate strategic planning as soon as possible in order to establish leading capabilities for such operations. Meanwhile, OEMs need to lay the foundation for SPM implementation involving their organization, people, systems, and data in order to be competitive in the market in the future .